Memory lane

Victory in Saturday's second Test against South Africa in Pretoria would see the Lions stay alive in the series but it will not kill off the Springboks.

The opponents might have been the same 12 years ago, but it was a different scenario heading into the second international in Durban following the Lions' surprising first Test victory in Cape Town.

The 1997 Lions knew a win in the second rubber would secure series victory and Martin Johnson's men achieved just that.

Despite being outscored by three tries to nil by the reigning world champions, the Lions ran out 18-15 winners courtesy of five Neil Jenkins penalties and a dramatic late drop goal from Jerry Guscott.

Whereas the Boks failed with all six of their attempts at goal in a thrilling encounter, Jenkins finished with a 100-per-cent record under the greatest of pressure, while Guscott made a mockery of his status as an unaccomplished striker of the ball as he cemented his place in Lions folklore with three minutes remaining at King's Park.

http://www.lionsrugby.com/ took a look back through the archives and found the following article from Rob Andrew in the August 1997 edition of Rugby World. Here's what the 1989 and 1993 Lions tourists had to say about the nature of that famous victory. We think the former Wasps and Newcastle fly-half describes that historic encounter pretty accurately and we'd love to be able to read the newest generation of pundits praising a similar outcome on Saturday afternoon.

"Playing Test matches is all about finding a way to win - it all comes down to having the character to succeed," said Andrew, who made 13 appearances for the Lions across two tours.

"It's about saying to yourself, 'Somehow we are going to win this, we are not giving up'.

"That's exactly what the Lions did to win a remarkable victory in Durban. They had far less possession and far less territorial advantage than the Springboks, but they pushed the text books aside, put their heads down and produced a game of thrust and counter thrust.

Jerry Guscott's drop goal won the second Test for the 1997 Lions

"Neil Jenkins was fantastic. His kicking was immaculate. He was forced to absorb an immense amount of pressure under the high balls that were reigning down on him - but he still managed to calm himself enough to plant every one of his kicks.

"It's easy to underestimate the value of a good kicker until a match like this comes along. Kicking in a Test match is extremely difficult. It's like a side show to the main event. You have to stand there alone and know that only you can make a difference.

"Jenkins did that in some extremely pressurised situations. He kept the Lions in the game as Joost van der Westhuizen, Pecry Montgomery and Andre Joubert all went over to score.

"The other way in which the Lions stayed in touch with the Boks was by keeping their shape as all manner of attacking moves were thrown at them. It allowed them to defend brilliantly from the kick-off to the whistle. The moment of glory came with Guscott's drop goal three minutes from time. It confirmed him as a player of the highest class, and it showed the knowledge the team had gained on this tour.

"Really great players make the right decisions. They react in the right way when confronted with an opening. Guscott is not an expert drop-goal kicker - he had only kicked two in his life before this tour. But, when the opportunity presented itself, he seized the moment.

"There can be no sporting moments more pressurised than that. When you take a drop goal you have to extract the ball from the chaos of open play, compose yourself enough to see the posts, see the ball, and make it.

"The team deserve the highest praise for coming through an ultimate mental and physical challenge."

The 2009 Lions face something similar this weekend. Here's hoping then come through such a challenge with an equal amount of success.

Ryan Grant displayed some impressive singing skills while on tour with the British & Irish Lions. The full release of Lions Raw will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray from October 28th. Pre-order on Amazon.

This clip featuring Simon Zebo will whet your appetite ahead of the much anticipated release of 'Lions Raw', the official Behind the Scenes documentary of the successful 2013 Tour. Full release on October 28th and available on DVD and Blu-Ray.